My dad took the blame for years for increased alcohol and tobacco consumption, as my friends and I would always raid the booze cabinet on Friday nights which was the usual night out for my parents. They would spend those nights as a reprieve from their work week and we spent it as a reprieve from our school week. The problem was the fact that it was easily accessible to us. This led to the ultimate test... could we actually purchase the goods ourselves at a local convenience store and get away with it. We tried on occasion and when refused the sale, we would do our best to get someone else to do it for us. When we struck it rich, and had the supplies in hand, we would frequent our favorite swimming hole or some back road somewhere and have ourselves a good time. Passing ourselves off as stone sober was not always an easy task though. I know of a few occasions that I was unsuccessful, and I am sure there were more over the years. Again, most of those were life lessons tried and true that went unpunished accept for the resulting hangovers and illness.  My Junior High School dance was a night to forget. Having gone through all the major preparations, the tux rental, the asking for a date, etc. all came crashing down on me at the end of the eve. For I had discovered a new friend of a friend, with an apartment. That was all the invite I needed to take it to the next level. My date and I were invited to partake in spirits at this apartment and so we did. So much so, that at the time of the dance and celebration ending, we...mostly I had no idea who or where I was. I managed to stumble my way back to the top of the hill overlooking the schools parking lot, and that was the last thing I remembered until awaking three days later. My mom was said to have been in hysterics, overaught with concern and frustrations. Apparently I had blacked out at the top of the hill, rolled head over heels several times and finally came to rest on the highway below after dropping off the cement embankment several feet above. The rented tuxedo was totally destroyed, ripped in several places, and covered in dirt, grass stains, etc. I went through some of the toughest DT's ever, awoke sopping wet from sweat, feeling as ill as I ever had, and had absolutely no recollection of the events leading up to the current confrontation. This was the closest I had come to alcohol poisoning. Ahead still was the explanation for my actions, and the multiple apologies to several people within my town limits, and not to mention the financial lesson learned as well.

                  About that time, I had become somewhat popular among my peers as I was a lifeguard and swimming instructor for our local pool. I was physically active playing organized sports such as Babe Ruth Baseball, was a formidable opponent on the local swimming team and an award winning Springboard Diver. I had friends, a few close ones and several acquaintances. There was never a dull moment. Along with those friends came the desire and need for spreading my wings. I got to the point of making demands for increased privacy, space, and increased time away from the family bonds that I was tied to, mostly out of loyalty. I would look for reasons to escape from the home life... I wanted more. More freedom to do the things I enjoyed, wanted to try, and to just get away from the usual daily grind. I began spending more time isolated by choice. I had relocated my bedroom to the basement for more quality quit time and privacy. I had begun to express a desire for drawing and sketching, as well as exploring my musical interests. The further I had gone in the scout troop was also feeding my drive for independence. I was spending more time in the wilderness and the local wooded areas around the house, each time getting further away from the home. I began spending quality time alone and feeding that drive to acquire knowledge and settle my curiosity of the great outdoors and its mystery. Gone were the days of the family camping trip, which usually was comprised of a pre established campsite with electrical power and all the conveniences of home. This afforded me some great memories and experiences, but it was not the traditional style of camping I was striving for. We camped in this manner for years, and it always bothered me that they used the term camping, for to me it was not. If it did not include setting up a structure and having to build your fire pit from scratch, and sleeping under the stars...It was not camping by my definition. Along with the traditional style came the responsibilities of "Leave No Trace". A practice taught and emphised for years in the scouts and recently coming to light to the general public. The idea of removing your sewer pipe and hauling off your trailer is not and will never be the same as the LNT principle.

               With the coming of independence and the strive for more adult oriented responsibility came the increased curiosity and nuances of the opposite sex. I began dating in the Jr. High. I had my so called popularity to work as an advantage in this area of my life. There were a few young women I was genuinely interested in, and experimented with the emotional and physical aspects of forming relationships. My first true girlfriend of any interest was named Joni. She was a shy, taller than average girl from Quebec, Canada I had met at our summer camp. I would find any and all excuses to be around her during our times at the campground and so looked forward to her and her family returning several times throughout the summer seasons. I learned a great deal from her in the dating and relationship realm, even at such a young age. Then when the camping season ended and we were back to the usual schooldays, a new relationship had come to light with a girl named Karen. My life and time was wrapped around her. I wanted to spend all available time with her. As relationships go, over time our fondness for each other had grown stronger, and we began to develop a love for one another. I say love as a usable term due to the fact that as kids of that age we really had no clue what it was all about. We only knew we had strong feelings for each other. As things would go, relationships came and went over the next couple years.